LOM-series protocol droid

"The case is inconclusive, but the processor doesn't appear to be at fault. The subject claims he committed crimes simply 'for love of money.'"

―Industrial Automaton investigators after interviewing 4-LOM^[5]

The LOM-series protocol droid was a protocol droid series produced by Industrial Automaton to compete with Cybot Galactica's popular 3PO-series protocol droid. Pitched as a droid that would be marketed to insectoid alien species, Industrial Automaton had plans to expand into the Human market if sales were good enough. However, Industrial Automaton's plan to compete with the 3PO-series led the company to make a droid that cosmetically resembled Cybot Galactica's product from the neck down, and incorporate several components including an AA-1 VerboBrain and TranLang III communications module. Cybot Galactica sued for trademark infringement, leading Industrial Automaton to quietly retire the line.

Description

The LOM-series was a third-degree^[2] protocol droid manufactured by Industrial Automaton. As an effort to challenge Cybot Galactica's dominance of the protocol droid market, the LOM-series was designed to appeal to insectoid species. As such, the droid's head was a generic, insectlike design, with large, prominent photoreceptors on either side, although they were keyed for the Human visual spectrum..^[1]

Industrial Automaton were not content to compete with Cybot Galactica. Instead, they wanted to dethrone the 3PO-series and offer a model that was capable of the same functions but at a lower price point. In an effort to replicate the functionality of the 3PO-series, Industrial Automaton's designers approached equipment suppliers such as SyntheTech and brokered deals with them. Industrial Automaton ended up acquiring identical technical and peripheral components that were used on the 3PO-series,^[1] including droid body plating,^[4] resulting in the LOM-series resembling a 3PO unit from the neck down.^[1] LOM-series droids were also equipped with AA-1 VerboBrains and TranLang III communications modules allowing them to communication in millions of languages. LOM droids had all the advantages of 3PO units such as their intelligence and cultured manner, and were also less skittish and more prone to acts of altruism and generosity.^[1]

History

In the aftermath of the Clone Wars,^[4] Industrial Automaton planned to challenge Cybot Galactica's market dominance in the protocol droid field. Realizing that it was unwise to try and compete directly against the 3PO-series, Industrial Automaton tried a different approach. As the 3PO unit was popular with Human customers, the company decided to target their model at alien species. If their sales projections exceeded their target expectations within two years, Industrial Automaton planned to create a Human-based protocol droid.^[1]

Designs for the LOM-series protocol droid were swiftly approved, and Industrial Automaton defined a broad target market for their new line. They had seen the disaster that Cybot Galactica had endured with their PD-series protocol droid and did not want to repeat their competitor's mistake. The LOM-series was designed with insectoid species in mind, including the Brizzit, Verpine, Xi-Dec, and Yam'rii.^[1]

The LOM-series sold well in its initial, limited release, but plans for future production were put on hold when Cybot Galactica sent an army of copyright attorneys after Industrial Automaton. Cybot Galactica was furious at Industrial Automaton's use of trademarked hardware in their new droid, coupled with its clear cosmetic similarity from the neck down to the 3PO-series.^[1] They sued for trademark infringement, and violations of noncompetition agreements with companies that supplied components for the 3PO-series.^[4] During the lawsuits, Industrial Automaton suffered a blow to the reputation of the LOM-series when a valet aboard the Kuari Princess became a thief and one of the galaxy's most notorious bounty hunters.^[1]

Cybot Galactica was quick to blame shoddy craftsmanship for 4-LOM's turn to crime, while Industrial Automaton attempted to blame a mysterious programming glitch brought on by the droid interacting with the Kuari Princess's shipboard computer. The combination of the lawsuits and the bad publicity from the 4-LOM incident was a public relations nightmare for Industrial Automaton. The LOM-series did not recover^[1] and the line was quietly retired.^[4]